Opening Shot
“Socialists cry ‘Power to the people’ and raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they really mean – power over people, power to the State.” — Margaret Thatcher
Americans Killed in Jordan
Two Americans and several others (the total death toll is either six or eight people, depending on the source) were killed Monday when a Jordanian policeman opened fire at the Jordan International Police Training Center in Amman (JIPTC). The attacker was shot dead at the scene.
The JIPTC is an American funded school that specializes in police and gendarmerie training. Originally the institution was created to train officers for the Iraqi Police Service. It has also trained officers for the Palestinian Presidential Guard and National Security Forces. The two Americans killed were working for the US State Department’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau to train Palestinian security forces.
There is no word yet on motive (although President Obama assures us that he’s taking it “very seriously”), however, yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the a 2005 Al Qaeda attack on three Amman luxury hotels in which 60 people were killed. So, you know, maybe they could start there.
Mizzou Management Misjudges Movement Momentum
Ongoing student protests at the University of Missouri claimed two high-profile scalps on Monday. First, Tim Wolfe, President of the University of Missouri system resigned then, a few hours later, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced he would be stepping down on the first of the year.
So what were these students protesting? They were complaining about administration inaction after a few racist incidents. What were these incidents? Well, twice, once in September and once in October, someone yelled some racial slurs. Then on October 24, someone drew a swastika in human feces on a wall.
Student protests persisted and grew in intensity. Then on Saturday, some members of the Missouri Tigers football team, with the support of their coach, announced they would boycott playing and practicing until Wolfe resigned.
We don’t know for sure what finally forced Wolfe’s hand. However, the Tigers are scheduled to play an important game against Brigham Young University on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. If the Tigers refused to play, they would have been contractually obligated to pay a $1 million cancellation fee.
Maybe It Won’t Be as Terrible as Last Time!
Tonight FOX Business Network and the Wall Street Journal will be hosting the fourth Republican primary debate at the Milwaukee Theatre in Milwaukee, WI. There are actually two events, the prime-time debate and the undercard debate. (Have there really only been three debates? ‘Cause it seems like so many more than that ... and weren’t there supposed to be fewer debates this time?)
The main debate will be moderated by Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo. The “fun” begins at at 9:00 pm ET and will last two hours. (Although we’re sure it’ll feel like a lot more than that.) We’re down to just eight candidates this time: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio.
The undercard debate is (mercifully) only one hour. It begins at 7:00 pm ET and will be hosted by Sandra Smith and Trish Regan of FOX Business Network and Gerald Seib of the Wall Street Journal. The line-up is a little different this time: Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, and Chris Christie. We suspect the fix was in: Somehow, George Pataki did not make the cut off.
Very conveniently, they’ll be streaming the debate at FoxBusiness.com and on the Fox News app and (since they’re cool) you won’t need to borrow your brother-in-law’s cable subscriber info: no authentication is required. Of course, you can watch it on TV too. (If you have no idea what channel that is, because you've never heard of Fox Business before, you can look that up here.)
And, of course, the real party is over at Ricochet. We’ll once again be hosting a live chat for members! (The boss says it starts at 9:00, but we guarantee people will be there early.)
Egypt Caps Terrorist Leader
Egyptian state-run media reported Monday that terrorist Ashraf Ali Ali Hassanein al-Gharabali was killed in a shootout at a checkpoint. Al Gharabali is alleged to have been the leader of Wilayat Sinai, also known as the ISIS Sinai Province. In some places, you see him reported as the leader of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, but that group became Wilayat Sinai last November when they pledged allegiance to ISIS. (Got all that?)
While the Egyptian government has not accused Al Gharabali of involvement with the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268, his group did claim credit for it, and they have been involved in several attacks and attempted assassinations. The Egyptian Interior Ministry has described Al Gharabali as “the mastermind” of the organization.
When Not to Use a Designated Driver
Police in Tiffin, OH, arrested a man Saturday evening for using a designated driver when he was too intoxicated to drive. Oh, we should probably mention that his DD was a nine-year-old kid.
Here’s what happened: The man needed a grocery item, so he asked the kid to drive him to the nearby gas station. To the kid’s credit, he made it to his destination, but the clerks at the gas station wouldn’t let the child drive home and called the police. He man tried to drive home and was quickly pulled over by the cops.
So, yeah, that happened. (As you can probably guess, the man's in the jailhouse now.)
Why the urgent need to run to the gas station? Well, the man needed barbecue sauce for dinner. (And really, if you want a fine barbecue sauce, that’s the place to go.) So, we at least understand his plight.
And while it’s not exactly the same, is this really all that different from that time you were too high on peyote and you had your golden retriever drive you to the Piggly Wiggly?
|
